Choices (But Not Quite)
by Chibi-Shibi
Summary: Percy is faced with a choice he did not think he would have to face again.


**AN: Ilvermorny, Year 4**

**AU for small inconsistencies with the canon: Sirens living only in ancient Greece, and the Auror office having a Creatures subdivision. Also, I will be disregarding Merrows for now (or treating them as equivalent to Selkies). Any other small things that may have escaped my notice.**

**Inspired partly by 'To Kill a Kingdom' by Alexandra Christo.**

**Main prompt:**

**Percy Weasley**

**Optional:**

**Auror**

**Crime**

* * *

As Percy walked in through the door, the lights told him that Nori was already home.

He sighed internally. He loved his wife, but today was a day he wanted to spend some time by himself, at least for a while.

He was just putting his coat away when she emerged from the other room.

"Hello, love! How was your day?" she asked. He hesitated for a second before replying with something noncommittal and walking away as quickly as he could without being rude. He could tell from her expression that she was confused, but, at the moment, he would rather she didn't know the jumble of thoughts going through his head, especially given her heritage.

It was over dinner that he finally had to face the music. He was dreading it.

"How was work today?"

He did not reply. Percy remained silent, his stomach a knot.

"Percy! You've been acting odd since you came home. What _is_ the matter?"

"It has just been a long day." He bit his tongue to keep from saying more. He wanted to share, to get it out, but, somehow, he could not.

"Are you allowed to tell me about the case?" Nori prodded. She knew that a lot of his work was confidential, and there was much he couldn't tell her.

He shook his head no, although he did not want to lie to his wife.

She was quiet for a few moments, before speaking again.

"Do the Aurors know what is happening in the sea?"

He looked up at her with a start. "You've heard?"

"Of course!" she scoffed. "I met Mum yesterday, remember? She told me...well, only some of it. She still thinks I'm her little girl, needing to be protected, I suppose."

Percy sighed. He wondered if she knew the extent of the damage. Probably not, from what he knew of her mother's ways.

"They're fighting," he said. "Fighting for their lives. And they're—... the reports are of them being extremely violent and dangerous. The Ministry is considering removing the Beings classification they were offered—"

"But we refused the classification!" she cut in. He nodded and continued.

"Yes, the _merfolk _did," he said, using the word so that the case and his family would be separate in his mind; a distinction that was important to him at that moment. "But the fact that they offered it, gave you some special rights, too."

He went quiet, not sure how to say the rest. "If you're not a Being, there are fewer laws against the trading of...parts."

He winced as he saw Nori's jaw drop, but he had to go on now that he'd started. "There are also rules about what happens when you are in a space that is part of the Ministry's land. All Beasts must be in some sort of captivity." He reflected a moment. "There are exceptions, bylaws and special cases of course, but—"

Percy's head slumped down with the weight of it all. He held it between his hands and sighed.

"What about half-beasts?' she asked, her voice small. Percy realised she was trying to hold back tears.

"They're an anomaly, I suppose. Something that hadn't been accounted for. There are no laws for them, but I suspect there will be, soon."

Something clicked in Percy's mind as he was talking. He had been against the law classifying Merpeople as Beasts, for whatever little value his opinion held among the higher-ups in the Ministry. His primary reason had been the unfairness of it all.

Only _now _did he realise that this was being used as a _threat_ by the Minister. It was a power play, but for what reason, he didn't yet know.

Percy didn't sleep that night. Neither did Nori. He was concerned about far too many things to list, but he also knew that _she _was worried, too. She fretted about her own wellbeing, and, consequently, their future. They lay together, awake, deep into the night.

When Percy walked into the office the next day, he heard the usual murmuring of voices quiet as he approached. He frowned. That was never a good sign. Given the current scenario, and what with everyone knowing of Nori's parentage, there was a chance of everything going pear-shaped quickly.

"They're calling for you, Weasley," someone came and told him before he could even get to his desk. He didn't even register the face of the messenger, his vision narrowing as he started to worry.

"Mr Ainsley? You called?" Percy asked when the man opened the door. Ainsley nodded in response and signalled him inside.

"I'm putting you on the Merpeople case, Weasley. In the field, I mean." Percy's eyes widened. "It is not a case we can solve sitting on our desks, and besides, that's not what Aurors are known for."

"Isn't... it?" He had assumed that the right way to solve the case would have been through negotiations and explanations. There was no 'out in the field' in this case at all, according to him.

The American, only recently transferred into a surprisingly high position, shook his head, his accent sounding stronger as his insistence grew. "We need to get them down. Show them we're stronger, and that they shouldn't even be thinking of attacking us."

Percy frowned. "But they _haven't_ been threatening us!"

Ainsley raised his voice. "How long until they do?"

"Sir, we _have _a treaty, and there has been no indication—"

"Would you really trust _those creatures_ with a treaty, Weasley?"

Percy went quiet, only just stopping himself from letting his jaw drop open.

"That's not fair, Sir," he began. "They were classified as Beings."

"A classification they themselves refused, even though the Ministry foolishly keeps the Being laws on them, for what reason I don't know. Even _they _know better than to compare themselves to _us_." Ainsley looked far too smug for Percy's liking, but he didn't comment on it.

"I see what the problem here is. I don't think it's because of the classification, Weasley. This is about your _wife_."

Percy looked at him sharply. "It most certainly is _not,_ Sir, and I would hope that you keep my personal life completely out of my work."

Ainsley circled the table and moved towards him, meeting his gaze with equal intensity.

"Do not mess this up, Weasley. It is not a far jump from the Creatures division of the Aurors, to the Centaur Office. At least, not when you have a wife like yours."

Percy swallowed, nodding.

"And speaking of your wife, the Centaur Office will hardly be a place from where you will be able to influence laws about half-_Beasts._"

The final jab landed weaker than Ainsley expected. Knowing the Golden Trio had its benefits. Nonetheless, the threats to his livelihood were very real, and Percy knew he had no choice but to try to 'get the merpeople down'. Somehow.

* * *

A heaviness settled in the pit of Percy's stomach as they all prepared to apparate to the confluence of the waters where the sirens and selkies lived, and consequently, the place where they were fighting.

He swallowed as he felt the pull of magic, and only seconds later, he was standing on the shores of war, literally.

The place looked surprisingly calm, however even as they watched, they could see some heads in the distance, along with a faint sound of screaming.

This prompted Percy to climb onto his broom, and quickly kick himself off the ground, followed by his subordinates.

As they flew farther from the shore, the sounds grew louder, and it was easier to distinguish the softer, more melodious voices of the sirens from the shrieking of the selkies.

Soon enough, they were circling over the underwater battlefield, and the merfolk too had taken notice of them.

The fighting at first slowed down, and then stopped almost entirely below the place where the Aurors were hovering, even though sounds from further away could be heard.

"We're here from the Ministry of Magic of Britain. We don't want to hurt you," he began, but one of the sirens, one who looked vaguely familiar in fact, raised her hand to stop him.

"You say this, but you come bearing weapons and forces. We know better than to trust humans, by now."

Percy had the decency to look ashamed as he spoke next. "I know that the relations between humans and merpeople have not been the best so far, but we're hoping to change that." Immediately, he realised that he had said something wrong. The siren looked furious.

"Are you? Perhaps you were _hoping to change_ when your government threatened to throw us out of our own waters? Right before they took away a few of us to prove their point. Including my own sister. And yet, you have the audacity to come here and claim olive branches?"

Suddenly, Percy realised who she was. "Ellara?" he asked, hoping he was remembering the name correctly.

"Sir, our orders were to attack," one of his men came up to say, in a low voice.

"Were they, Auror Weasley?" There was a smirk on her face now. "However, you are right, as far as my name is concerned. How is my niece?"

Some of the Aurors gasped. Percy looked pained, however. "She will not be as well when she finds out about her mother." He paused. "But she is not why I am here."

"I know. You are here because you have fought for both sides of a war before, and do not want to do so again."

He nodded.

"And yet, you remain blissfully unaware of the cause of this war."

Percy frowned. The Ministry had told him next to nothing, which was rather suspicious, but Nori had been helpful in that regard. "I was told it is a war for survival and territories." He saw a few of the other Aurors look confused. Clearly, this was new to them too.

"Not by your employer, you weren't. And while your information is correct, it is incomplete. This war, like most others, is caused by humans."

"What do you mean?" His heart was already sinking as he began to guess what may have been the story.

"We have lived here together for centuries. The warmer waters are ours, the colder, the selkies." The other merfolk, quiet so far, perhaps for lack of communication or eloquence, nodded at this. "I will not claim that we have been too fair to them, and neither have you because captivity and slavery are not granting them any dignity. However, this has never made more than a small ripple in the peace of our homes."

Percy nodded. Clearly, the selkies had terrible luck, even among the other merpeople. Perhaps that was the kind of unfairness one had to deal with when Nature made them look as terrifying as they were as opposed to the more conventional, human-like beauty of the sirens.

"Until we were told that both species would not be allowed resources enough to co-exist, by the Ministry. So, Auror, here we are, fighting our own kin because we have no other choice."

At these words, something in Percy nearly broke. "I...we...didn't know," he said, trying to keep his throat from choking. The other Aurors were either frowning in confusion or looking impatient. This was not what their mission was supposed to be. "We didn't know any of this." Percy paused, racking his brains for any whisper he may have heard of the announcement. It was the sort of decision that would not be taken lightly but even Harry had not heard of it as far as he knew.

"We thought that perhaps you didn't. Nonetheless, your kind has always done more harm than good to ours, and the threat still hangs like a sword above our heads. You wished to watch us fight for your amusement, and kill each other in the process. Well, you shall have it."

"But why didn't you ask for a compromise? For proof? For anything?" Percy raised his voice slightly in frustration. He felt helpless and confused.

Ellara glared at him. "Do you think we did not? Do you think we are fools? That, like humans, we revel in the bloodshed? We got our answers. Along with further threats."

He had been here once before, years ago, in this exact position. Family and what was right, against what was lawful and would help him keep his job. And in the middle? A war that would kill hundreds, if not more. His head was reeling from everything he had learned.

"Sir?" someone asked, bringing his mind back to the present. "Should we...what should we be doing?"

At that, he realised there was a difference. There were people asking him for advice this time, which meant he had the power to change things.

"We go back to the Ministry and find out about this law they supposedly want to implement." Turning to the sirens and selkies, he added, "Would you please give us one last chance? Just one day. I hope to fix this."

* * *

Percy was _not_ looking forward to facing his superior. It would be a somewhat confrontational meeting. On top of that, he was certainly going to get chastised by him and the other higher-ups for not following orders.

He was quite terrified. However, he was not a coward. He had made that mistake once. He would not make it again.

He knocked on the door, which swung open a few seconds later.

Percy found himself facing a long table, at which half, if not more of the people with the highest positions in the ministry were seated. Once the initial shock wore off, he realised it made sense, with a fierce accusation like his. Most of them were glaring at him, but a few were either disinterested or somewhat supportive, at least in their expressions.

"Well, Mr Weasley?" Ainsley's voice was almost mocking, _challenging_.

"I spoke to the sirens, and the selkies."

Some of them, Ainsley and a couple of his cronies who, he knew, were mostly there to support Ainsley. "Did you, now? Perhaps next you can tell us the stories of how they lured you underwater with their songs and voices."

Percy could see a few more grins around the table. "They described the threats that had been made towards them. By you." He looked sharply at Robert Ainsley again, and the latter sat up straighter, more serious now.

"As you mentioned in your report that we have all read, Mr Weasley," someone else cut in. "This meeting is being held do you can elaborate."

Percy nodded. "I was extremely confused, when I first found out, much like most of you. But some calls later, I realised what it really was." He laid down a stack of parchment, most of them handwritten notes and missives, and began to sort through them.

By the time he finally finished explaining each of the documents and proving their authenticity, the atmosphere in the room had changed completely. Everyone was looking at Ainsley, who had cut in to prove his innocence multiple times during this time but had failed.

Just as he was getting up, another wizard firmly told him to sit back down, while another sent a Patronus to the Aurors.

Ainsley glared at Percy and mumbled a few threats under his breath as he was being led away a few moments later.

It was only once he had left, however, that Percy went up to Harry. "I didn't want to influence your decision," he said.

Harry nodded. "I know. It was impressive that you were able to find out all about his past and his history of selling siren parts in the black market, when not even the MACUSA could, after years of him working there."

"I had to. I couldn't let all merfolk be outcasts like that." Percy looked sheepish and Harry smiled understandingly.

"You've helped more than just the merfolk, I think. I had heard rumours of the Being and Beast laws being changed to be more humane, based on the outcome of this meeting. People are starting to realise that the creatures are also capable of emotions and pain."

Percy nodded, blinking away the tears in his eyes. At least this time, he had made the right choice.


End file.
